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Best study aid?

xxl said:
If by "study" your mean "learn" (long term memory!), then drugs are no good. Plenty of sleep and as sober as possible is the answer.
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This is generally true...modafinil may help you type faster and more accurately, and methylphenidate or MDPV can increase work output (though often at the expense of quality if dose is too high), but most currently available drugs have only a subtle impact on actual memory recall in my experience.

As others have said above, a small dose of cholinergic or glutamatergic drugs or herbs such as piracetam, huperzine A or galantamine, possibly with a choline supplement like phosphatidylcholine, may help slightly. Celastrus paniculata is a plant from ayurvedic herbal medicine that seemed to be useful. However dose is key, too much acetylcholine activity and you will have anxiety and nightmares but little nootropic effect!

Some drugs that increase blood flow to the brain seem to help, hydergine and vinpocetine for instance. Atenolol is helpful for counteracting distracting PNS side effects of stimulants while not affecting the central action. Everyone eagerly awaits some wider human trial results with ampakines like CX-717 or CX-1739 but results so far are mixed....

edit: oh and how could I forget coffee and cigarettes of course, the favourite nootropics of students worldwide! As people have mentioned above, coca tea (or khat tea instead for that matter) can also be quite good, although again dose is key, with the lowest dose that actually produces any effects generally being the sweet spot for optimum nootropic action, if you start to feel "wired" then your performance is probably worse than if you were sober (despite how you might feel about it at the time!)
 
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I wouldn't get any studing done on meph...I would just end up listening to some tunes heh
 
you could look into small doses of benzos to take at night.

study during the day/evening, eat well (healthy), take vitamins in the morning, and a small dose fo something like xanax (0.5mg) at night to aid in getting a good night's sleep. Not trying to nock yourself out, just to help relaxing at night as you fall asleep. Valerian extract could help here at night as well, or kava kava extract.

do this for a week or so rather than cramming.
 
mgrady3 said:
you could look into small doses of benzos to take at night.

study during the day/evening, eat well (healthy), take vitamins in the morning, and a small dose fo something like xanax (0.5mg) at night to aid in getting a good night's sleep. Not trying to nock yourself out, just to help relaxing at night as you fall asleep. Valerian extract could help here at night as well, or kava kava extract.

do this for a week or so rather than cramming.
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Worst idea ever. Benzos cause significant cognitive and memory impairment :| the OP was asking about a study/memory aid, not a sleep/retrograde amnesia aid
 
Nothing beats good ole amphetamine for studying.

Meth works in a pinch too, just dont dose too high.
 
mad_scientist said:
Some drugs that increase blood flow to the brain seem to help, hydergine and vinpocetine for instance.
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I rate high vinpocetine and centrophenoxine as study aid. More that racemique amph (which is a bad but easy to find and potent stimulant).
modafinil, desoxipipradol (very good), ritaline are all good study aid.
mdpv, 3-FMC can be effective.

but definitly 2-FA is the best study aid i know.
 
Pramaracetam is the most effective of the racetams I have tried, centrophenoxine is great but I recently read a worrying paper on it's ability to drastically reduce nicotinic receptor density.
 
I am currently a student, so when I find myself having to cram for an important test or paper, I find that the following work best for me as far as concentration and absorption of material; caffeine, cocaine, ritalin and adderal. I'm not saying to take all of these at same time, but maybe two or three throughout the course of studying at different intervals would be fine, and what is available to you at the time. Also large doses of vitamin b-12(taken w food) is also effective with helping energy and concentration. Good luck!
 
lol coke... i did a personal best on physics 2 exams thanks to a pre-test pick me up once. or maybe i was just bound for a decent score that time.

for brute force adderall works best to give you stamina and focus to study on and on or do HW problem after problem.

but the racetams give unparalleled memory and intellectual enhancement. this is truly what you need most during exams or in "non-cram settings."

so probably the best bet is to combine the two and let all hell break loose.

of course the problem then could become, "Are you now so high you would rather do something besides study?"

just don't get smart and fire up the bowl. you won't be working that much longer once Xbox or internet starts calling your name.
 
Worst idea ever. Benzos cause significant cognitive and memory impairment the OP was asking about a study/memory aid, not a sleep/retrograde amnesia aid
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For what it's worth, if you keep the benzo dose low it shouldn't be a problem. I go to an ivy league school and get all A's (chemistry), and I routinely study with a low dose of ativan or clonazepam + dexedrine or dexmethylphenidate
 
That's why I initially specifically mentioned Benzos only as a low dose. A dose that only offers mild anxiolytic effects. There would be minimal memory impairment from that.

It would be more correct to say that Benzos CAN cause significant cognitive and memory impairment.

I have on multiple occasions taken a low dose benzo before an exam to calm myself down. Not enough for any sedation, not enough for serious cognitive impairment, but plenty to quell anxiety( as it was prescribed for)
 
Incidentally, since finals are coming up, I was considering ordering some adrafinil. Would that work as well as I'm hoping, or should I go for a more classic stimulant?
 
I haven't tried it, only modafinil. It's not great at producing focus, but it's a good stimulant with very very few down negatives.
 
I have crammed for tests, gotten NO sleep, and done excellent by using this all natural mixture.

Rhodiola Rosea
Fo-Ti
Siberian Ginseng
Caffeine

Thats it. It works. Dont double up though. A little Rhodiola is stimulant and takes the edge off fatigue. Too much makes you almost sleepy from dopamine. Siberian Ginseng can be taken in larger doses though along with Green tea.
 
There could be something to benzos, since stress and caffeine both make you forgetful. Fight or flight diverts blood away from the neo-cortex and towards the cerebellum, needed for running away and fighting. You dont need good memory skills when fighting a tiger. However, too much sedation is bad.

Ashwaghanda has a mild benzo effect, and as an added bonus the long term side effect of regular use is increased sex drive. It helps yo sleep at night, with increased energy in the long term.
 
i find stimulants distracting trying to study, maybe a coffee or something, but even a couple of coffees make it harder to focus on what im supposed to be doing. A good nights sleep is the best.
 
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